Michael Mallery took the witness stand Tuesday in his own defense against child sex abuse charges.

The trial on five counts of first-degree sexual abuse began last week in Washington County Circuit Court. Mallery, a Pacific University vice president, is accused of molesting two child relatives.

The first allegations against him surfaced in 2010, when a young relative told a counselor that Mallery had touched her inappropriately. The second set of accusations arose last year, when another young relative told a teacher that Mallery had touched her.

A trip to the Forest Grove news archives gives a taste of Mayor Peter Truax and his colleagues are doing at the National League of Cities conference in Washington, DC.

While at the conference, Mayor Richard Kidd met with Sen. Ron Wyden, Sen. Gordon Smith, Rep. David Wu, and Rep. Earl Blumenauer to discuss transportation issues including Light Rail, Post Office, LNG pipeline and terminal, CDBG (Community Development Block Grant), EECBG (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant), and other issues of concern to the National League of Cities.

In other news:

Adelante Mujeres will hold an open house for the public to celebrate its move to a larger location in downtown Forest Grove.